


Nerds in a Bar

by sokki09



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bar/Pub, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Arguing, F/M, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-15
Updated: 2018-08-15
Packaged: 2019-06-28 00:07:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15696156
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sokki09/pseuds/sokki09
Summary: AU in which Rey and Ben meet in a bar, and discuss the age old question as to whether the prequels or originals are better.





	Nerds in a Bar

She had just gotten off of work, and was in desperate need of a drink. Her co-workers down at the car garage were driving her crazy, from the insane laughter to their horrible mechanic skills. Never before had she wanted the day to end so much.

 

She signaled the bartender and quickly ordered a beer. She looked around at the bar. It wasn’t the worst place, nice bar stools, a large stock of beverages, and a few flat screen TVs spread out around the place. 

 

The bartender came over with her beer, and she noticed his shirt. It had a print of the Empire Strikes Back poster from 1980. One of her all time favorite movies.

 

“I like your shirt,” She comments, “Vintage?”

 

The guy looks down at his shirt, before peering up at her, “Nah, it's just made to look that way. I got it a few weeks ago.”

 

“Hm.” Rey purses her lips. 

 

The man goes back to his job, and Rey takes a sip of her beer. 

 

“You like Star Wars?” She hears a voice say.

 

She peers over and sees a man. He’s quite tall, even while sitting in the chair, and he has wavy, dark hair that is long enough to cover most of his head.  _ Pretty eyes,  _ she thinks, as she catches a glimpse of his soft brown eyes.

 

She nods, and he scoots into the chair next to her. She gives him a strange look.

 

“So which is your favorite?” He asks, obviously intrigued.  _ God this guy must be  _ such _ a nerd. _

 

“Probably Empire.” She says, taking a sip before continuing, “Or Hope or Jedi. All of the originals are good.”

 

The man huffs like a child, “Hm. I like the prequels better.”

 

_ What? _

 

Rey nearly spit out her drink. “You like the prequels… better?” She knows her voice is full of shock, as if this is the most surprising thing she’s ever heard, and she’s doing nothing to hide it.

 

The man looks around, confusedly. “The prequels are  _ fantastic _ ; much, much better than the originals.” 

 

“What?” Rey’s drink was long forgotten as she stares at the man sitting next to her.

 

“Better graphics, better actors, better everything.” The man states, as if his opinion is correct and its all so simple.

 

Rey couldn’t believe her eyes. In all her years of school, of jobs, of frequenting nearby bars, had she ever come across someone who thought the prequels were  _ better _ than the originals. She didn’t hate them, but they certainly weren’t the superior trilogy.

 

She downed some of her drink, straightened her back and turned her body to face the opponent. This was not an argument she would lose.

 

“The originals are the classics, composed of some of the best graphics the late 1970’s and early 80’s had to offer. It blew people’s minds, and is still one of the best plot lines in the history of cinema.” Rey defended. She rolled her eyes with a huff before adding, “And they did  _ not _ have Jar Jar Binks.”

 

“Do you have a problem with Jar Jar Binks?” The man mocked. 

 

“ _ The entire world _ has a problem with Jar Jar Binks.” She replied.

 

The man shook his head in disbelief before downing his drink, ordering something stronger, and preparing to defend himself. This was beginning to look like a full on war.

 

“First off, I’d like to point out that the originals had some of the cheesiest graphics ever, and did not ‘wow’ everyone.” He said. “Secondly, the prequels were some of the first movies to have CGI, and did a fantastic job, as well as the lightsaber battles being much better.”

 

“That's because the storyline was weak! The originals had emotion and plot to make the lightsaber battles interesting.” 

 

“Obi-wan vs Anakin lacked emotion? Yoda vs Dooku?” He looked disgusted.

 

“Well it sure as hell wasn’t as good at Darth Vader and Luke’s battles!”

 

“Which battle are you talking about?” He asked, childishly, “Oh, right, I have no idea because they fought each other multiple times! Where’s the fun in that?”

 

“It gives them character depth. If the villain keeps getting killed off and replaced every episode, where is the depth?” Rey asked, noticing her fists clenching and her skin boiling in rising anger.

 

“The character depth was in Anakin! The prequels focused on Anakin’s downfall to the dark side!” The man was near shouting; passionately ranting on about his favorite movies. 

 

“Oh yes, he falls in love, becomes friends with the wrong people and has a huge ego; what darkness!” Rey lets the sarcasm flow off her tongue.

 

The man scowls at her. She is pushing his buttons and she knows she should stop. He seems short tempered and there’s only so much she can argue before he gets truly pissed off. She slides her legs back under the counter, resuming her position facing the large TV screens.

 

“You sure are opinionated.” He comments.

 

“Are you really one to talk?” She counters, raising her eyebrows.

 

She sees the hint of a miniscule grin emerging on his face. She can’t help the small smile that she makes herself. It’s been a long time since she’s been around someone as interested in these movies as she is.

 

They both go back to their drinks, but Rey can’t help noticing how he glances at her every few minutes, while pretending to watch the football game on screen. 

 

“You know,” he eventually starts, “You brought up some good points about the movies. I haven’t seen them in a while.” he pauses, as if choosing his words carefully. “Maybe we should watch them sometime… together.”

 

Rey’s eyes must be wide with shock, paused mid-sip at his words, drink halfway to her mouth. It’s been a while since she was hit on at a bar, but then again, she hasn’t had much time to go to bars in the last few months. Her awkward reaction only gets worse as she doesn’t know how to reply.

 

Eventually she blurts out, “I don’t even know your name!” 

 

He seems to ease a bit at her words, as she flushes and he breaks into a toothy grin. Rey was so caught up on her own awkwardness she hadn’t noticed his until it began to dissipate. 

 

He reaches out his hand, “I’m Ben, the resident prequel defender around here.” He says, with a grin.

 

Rey meets his hand, “I’m Rey, your worst nightmare. I’d love to watch the original trilogy and complain all throughout the prequels sometime.” 

 

They are still for a moment, staring at each other, still grasping hands. They only let go once the bartender comes back over to ask if they would like anything else.

 

Rey politely declines while Ben reaches into his pocket to retrieve his phone, “Here, put your number in, I’ll call you.”

 

Rey grins, adding her number to his contacts. She’s happy to notice there aren’t too many contacts in his phone. She offers it back to him, hopping off her stool. 

 

“I should head home, I’ve got a hot date with some laundry tonight. Work keeps me busy but I’m sure we could find some time to watch those movies.” She tells him.

 

He in turn, also gets up from his seat, and Rey notices  _ just _ how tall he actually .is.

 

“Maybe we could spread the movies out between two nights, one for each trilogy?” He suggests, as they walk toward the door.

 

“That sounds lovely,” Rey says, headed to her spot in the parking lot, “Originals first, yeah? Obviously the right way to watch the saga, how else would you do it? See you later.” She winks, hopping into her car, knowing all too well that they would have begun to argue all over again if she hadn’t made her stealthy exit.

  
She casually glances back at him through her rearview mirror as she drives away.  _ What the hell just happened? _


End file.
